DanMachi Universe, Lower World, Orario.
After going over their Status Sheets, everyone in the Dragon's Nest headed to bed. While most of them went to their own room, Violet, Aletia, and Sakura followed Tatsuo to his. Meanwhile, Momo, watching the other three ladies follow Tatsuo, couldn't help looking at them with a bit of envy. Unfortunately, she was too shy to follow them.
Considering the fact that nothing happened other than Violet, Aletia, and Sakura sleeping in Tatsuo's arms tonight, Momo probably lost the best chance she had to sleep in Tatsuo's room without ending up so embarrassed that she would pass out. But for the same reason, Aletia found herself upset and having trouble falling asleep.
If Tatsuo were to be honest, he really wanted to do more than just sleep. However, with Aletia looking the way she did, he could not bring himself to do anything with her.
'I really need to talk to Aletia, so she doesn't keep getting her hopes up.' Tatsuo thought to himself while holding Violet and Sakura in his arms with Aletia lying on his chest. 'But I don't even know how to bring it up. No matter what I say, it's gonna make her sad. And I really don't wanna see one of my treasures so unhappy.'
What Tatsuo did not realize was the fact that he was starting to see his women as more than just his treasures. Although he truly treasured them, it was still beyond his comprehension that he was seeing them as lovers, and not just treasures.
The next day came quickly. And it began with Tatsuo doing his best to get out of bed without waking the three women sleeping with him. Unfortunately, he succeeded in failing at his attempt. Because getting out of bed while someone is sleeping on your chest is much more difficult than words can describe.
With all three women up, they bathed together before heading downstairs, where they found Alfonzo about to step into the kitchen.
"Oh, good morning, T, Violet, Sakura, and Aletia," Alfonzo said after hearing the footsteps behind him. And when he saw Tatsuo approaching with Violet, Aletia, and Sakura, he smiled in a way that most men would understand. "Looks like someone had a good night last night, huh?"
"Yeah, it was a great night." Tatsuo replied while smiling wryly. "But probably not the kind of good night you're thinking. We just slept together… completely innocent."
Hearing Tatsuo's response and seeing the pout Aletia was wearing, Alfonzo immediately understood that Tatsuo was not downplaying his escapades. So, he wisely chose to drop the topic.
"Anyway, let's get started," Alfonzo said as he turned around and stepped into the kitchen. "We need to figure out what we're making for breakfast today."
"Right," Tatsuo replied with a nod as he stepped away from the three women. However, before he stepped into the kitchen, he turned back and spoke to Violet." "Violet, take Sakura-Chan out to the training field and start her on some basic physical training. Actually, take Aletia, too. Both of them are glass cannons at this point, and I really don't want any accidents to happen to them."
"Got it," Violet replied with a nod and a smile.
Meanwhile, Aletia and Sakura wore somewhat unwilling expressions. But since they did not want to hold Tatsuo back or make him worry unnecessarily, they both nodded at his order and followed Violet out to the backyard without any complaints.
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About half an hour later, the other residents of the Dragon's Nest started making their way down to the ground floor. However, when they noticed Violet, Aletia, and Sakura in the backyard, training, some of them, namely James, Akatsuki, and Momo ran back upstairs, changed into their training clothes, and headed out back to join them.
As for Elicia, Zelretch, and Aislynn? Well, Elicia was still asleep like always. As for Zelretch, since he noticed there was some free time, he took the chance to ask Aislynn to help him learn the language of the gods in preparation for the Mystery Development Ability.
The next hour and a half passed just like that. And just before breakfast was ready, Alfonzo came out of the kitchen, making his rounds to let everyone know breakfast would be ready soon and to wake up Elicia, who was still the type that did not like to get out of bed before breakfast was ready.
Breakfast followed shortly after Alfonzo returned with Elicia. Then, after breakfast, everyone split up to do their own things.
Tatsuo stayed at home to make a few weapons—a short sword, a pair of daggers, and a pair of gauntlets—for himself, since he went into the Dungeon last week without any weapons of his own. Alfonzo and Elicia went on a date around Orario, Violet and Sakura dragged Aletia, who wanted to hover around Tatsuo all day, out to explore the city a bit more. Zelretch continued studying with Aislynn. And the last three, James, Akatsuki, and Momo went back to training.
Several hours later, around lunch time, Tatsuo stepped out of the forge, having completed all the blacksmithing work he wanted to do for the day. And as it just so happened, James, Akatsuki, and Momo were still sparring on the training field.
"Damn… Anime logic makes blacksmithing a lot easier than it should be." Tatsuo muttered to himself while looking down at the gauntlets and greaves he finished making. "And with the [Transmutation] spell, making the molds for our equipment was pretty quick, too. I wish I'd thought of it last week. If I had, Lici's needles would have been done, too."
As Tatsuo said, when he first started working in the forge today, he had a flash of inspiration. So, using the [Transmutation] spell, he created precise molds for all the equipment he wanted to make, cutting down the production time by quite a bit. As a result, he created all the weapons he wanted to create going in, the daggers, the short swords, and the gauntlets. But he also managed to make a pair of greaves for himself. He even made nearly a thousand throwing needles for Elicia.
"Still, it took longer than I expected." Tatsuo muttered while looking at the position of the sun. "If I wanna get the other thing done today, I need to leave now."
While Tatsuo was talking to himself, the first to notice him was Momo. And since she was free at the moment because James and Akatsuki were sparring, Momo quickly jogged over to Tatsuo to greet him.
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"Are you done for the day, Tatsuo-Kun?" Momo asked while wiping a lock of hair out of her face.
"Yeah," Tatsuo replied. "I had a good idea to speed up production. Anyway, I can't believe you guys are still going."
"Well, there's no end to improvement," Momo said in a diligent tone. Then, with a slightly expectant gaze on her face, she continued. "Perhaps you would like to join us?"
"*Sigh* As much as I'd like to, I have something I need to do after this." Tatsuo said while shaking his head. "I really wanted to test out these gauntlets and greaves, too. But I can't really test them against people on our side. Their potential is kinda dangerous."
Hearing that, Momo glanced at the gauntlets and greaves Tatsuo was wearing while Tatsuo continued.
"But if they work like I think they should, I'll be able to make new weapons for Sakura-Chan, Aletia, and Lici that they should be happy with." Tatsuo said with a smile spreading across his face.
That made Momo curious. But since Tatsuo did not go into detail, she decided she would just let the surprise come. Instead, she focused on another topic.
"Then, what do you plan to do for the rest of the day?" Momo asked curiously.
"I need to do some shopping." Tatsuo replied. "Then, I can get started on the other project I wanted to work on today."
Momo tilted her head in curiosity when she heard that.
"Actually, do you wanna come with me when I go out?" Tatsuo asked casually.
While Tatsuo was only inviting Momo to accompany him, Momo's reaction made it clear she was thinking something else when she heard it.
Immediately, Momo's face reddened and her eyes turned into hearts. Then, before she could stop herself, she squealed loud enough to make James and Akatsuki stop their sparring session.
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'Is Tatsuo-Kun asking me out on a date?' Momo asked herself excitedly. 'Yes, this has got to be a date! Should I say yes? Of course I should! But now, I have to figure out what to wear! Oh, goodness, Elicia-San made us so many clothes! There are just too many to choose from!'
Seeing Momo's reaction, Tatsuo could only smile awkwardly.
'Did she forget something like this happened before I left her world?' Tatsuo wondered. 'Well, this time I guess she's right, though. It's not like I'm asking her to come with me to tell her something important or invite her to the [Dimensional chat] again. So, I'll let her have this one.'
"Yaomomo, is everything okay?" Akatsuki asked, snapping both Tatsuo and Momo out of their internal monologues.
"Huh? Oh, yes." Momo replied, her blush intensifying due to embarrassment as she snuck glances at Tatsuo. "Everything is fine."
Reaching that point, Momo turned towards the villa and started speedwalking towards it.
"But… Um… I'm going to call it a day for training." Momo said without turning around. "I'm going to go inside and get cleaned up. I'll see you all later."
Then, before anyone could respond, Momo quickly entered the villa and disappeared from everyone's sight.
"So, what did you say to get her all worked up?" James asked after approaching Tatsuo and throwing an arm over his shoulders. Then, he looked down at the gauntlets and greaves on Tatsuo's arms and legs as he continued while pointing at them. "And what's up with those?"
"My new primary weapons," Tatsuo replied while glancing down at his new equipment. "And if they work as well as I think they will, I'll be able to make new weapons for Sakura-Chan and Aletia next week."
"Won't that be the first weapon Sakura has used since we came here?" Akatsuki asked, approaching only a step behind James.
"Yeah," Tatsuo replied. "She learned how to wield a bow staff in the inherited memories. But to be honest, that weapon doesn't really suit her. She's the pure mage type, after all."
James and Akatsuki nodded in agreement with that.
"But you still haven't answered my first question," James said while patting Tatsuo on the back. "What did you say to Momo to get her all riled up like that?"
"I just asked her to come shopping with me," Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "She probably took it as me asking her on a date, though."
"*Sigh* That's the second time, isn't it?" Akatsuki asked in an exasperated tone while rubbing her temples.
"Yup," Tatsuo replied with a nod. "But this time, I'll let her have it. This can be a date if she wants it to be."
"That-a-boy." James said with a smile. "You gotta be proactive, after all. You can't have all your women chasing you, after all."
"You mean like you?" Tatsuo asked sharply. "From what I've heard from Rias and Sona, didn't they all chase you? I don't think they ever mentioned you taking the initiative on your own to start a relationship."
Coughing violently at the jab, James staggered back a few steps while frantically trying to remember how the relationships with members of his Harem started. And to his dismay, he found that he had not taken the initiative to woo even one of them. Instead, he had always been on the passive side.
"No… How can this be?" James asked in a forlorn tone as he fell to his hands and knees with an expression of grief on his face.
In response, Tatsuo only shrugged his shoulders before patting James on the shoulder. Then, he started walking towards the villa to get cleaned up for his outing. Meanwhile, Akatsuki had fallen to the ground while laughing so hard that her stomach hurt.
At the same time, in the northern part of the city, Loki, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth were sitting in the Captain's Office at the Loki Familia headquarters, the Twilight Manor.
"So, you think we should send some of our people to protect Aislynn's kids?" Loki asked curiously while cradling a bottle of wine in her arms.
"If they are truly our allies, then yes." Finn replied. "I have no doubt that the Captain of the Apollo Familia, Phoebus Apollo means them harm. Or at the very least, he means Tatsuo harm."
"Yeah, the look in his eyes when he was watching the kid fight made that obvious." Gareth said while stroking his beard.
"And it would be such a shame to lose a magical prodigy like that." Riveria added. "*Sigh.* If only those ten had joined our Familia. I would have been able to train their mages into something great."
"Look at that High Elf pride showing its ugly head." Gareth said in a joking tone. "From what I can see, they're doing pretty well on their own. Why would they need an old lady like you to train them?"
Immediately, a vein on Riveria's temple bulged from anger.
"Don't call me old, you uncivilized Dwarf!" Riveria shouted back in an irritated tone. "You know I'm only ninety-nine. I'm still a young maiden."
"Ha! I bet you're older than the old man in that Familia." Gareth replied in a teasing tone.
"Damn you, Gareth," Riveria grumbled, not knowing how to retort.
Yet, if Riveria only knew just how old Zelretch, the old man Gareth was talking about, actually was, her eyes would probably come close to popping out of her head.
"Alright, you two." Finn said, a slightly amused expression on his face. "As much as I enjoy seeing the two of you play out scenes from when we first joined the Familia, now is not the time."
"Actually, I don't really think we need to worry about it." Loki said nonchalantly. "I'm sure Aislynn will do something about it before it gets out of hand. I mean, if it happened yesterday, I'm sure she already knows what that pretty-boy brat wants to do."
"You're probably right," Finn said with a nod, completely agreeing with Loki's assessment. "Still, I think it would make us look better if we took the initiative to help."
"Then, what exactly do you think we should do?" Riveria asked after getting her irritation under control.
"Why don't you and Loki go to see Apollo?" Gareth asked, his question addressed to Finn. "If you give them a warning and let them know the Aislynn Familia is one of our allies, that should be more than enough, right?"
"Hmph! If it were any other god, that might be enough," Loki said disdainfully. "But that self-absorbed fool Apollo is like a child who won't believe fire is hot until he touches it and gets burned."
"I have to agree with Loki on this." Finn added.
"Instead, I'll just go talk to Aislynn tomorrow night," Loki said, a glint of cunning flashing in her eyes. "Then, I can come up with a countermeasure with her."
"You just want to freeload another meal," Riveria pointed out in a dry tone.
"Oh, come on, Mama." Loki said while trying to sound and look as innocent as possible. "Aislynn and I have been friends for millennia. Do you really think I would treat one of my dearest friends like that?"
'I do.' X 3
Finn, Riveria, and Gareth all had the exact same thought at the exact same time. However, none of them were bored enough to open that can of worms.
"Oh, and you'll be coming with me, Mama." Loki said, the cunning glint in her eyes shining even brighter. "Since you think so highly of those kids and their magic talent, you can have a conversation about magic with them. Maybe even give them a few pointers."
Just as Riveria was about to scold Loki for calling her "Mama" again, she heard the rest of her suggestion. And when she thought about going over to the Dragon's Nest in the evening, the memory of her embarrassing reaction to the cooking surfaced immediately. As a result, she turned red from the base of her neck to the tips of her pointy ears.
"Well then, that's settled," Loki said, deciding to end the conversation before Riveria could get over her embarrassment and deny her suggestion. "I'll deal with the rest tomorrow. But now, I still have a date with this bottle of wine. So, I'm going back to my room to continue whispering sweet nothings and swapping saliva with it."
Then, before anyone could respond, Loki spun on her heels and walked out of Finn's office. Meanwhile, Riveria was still stunned from embarrassment while Finn and Gareth looked at her with sympathy.
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"She really got you this time, Riveria," Gareth said, a hint of gloating in his tone. "But at the same time, I'm kinda jealous. If what you, Loki, Tiona, and Tione say about those brats' cooking is true, I really wanna try it for myself."
"Then, you should go in my place!" Riveria shouted, the flush on her face having not died down yet.
And with that, Riveria also rushed out of the office to chase down Loki, leaving Finn and Gareth to exchange amused glances.